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It’s For The Generations To Come

It’s For The Generations To Come

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We had an awesome time at the park this year for our family get together. God blessed us with a great day for a cookout. Although it was hot, it didn’t matter, because we hadn’t been together in a year.

When my father was living, he had Alzheimer’s. So we started having cookouts every year…not so much that he would remember who we were, but so that the younger generation would remember who he was. 

Just seeing generations of family cooking, and eating, and enjoying one another was amazing. Especially since one of my brothers had come home. My brother hadn’t been home for something like 30 years. He had been gone for so long that it was like having a celebrity in our midst…lol.

To say I am truly grateful to God is an understatement.

My parents were always big on family traditions. We got together at our family home for every holiday, birthday, and family reunion. My mother, especially, wanted all of us to remain close. And I feel blessed to be a part of a family that cares enough to want to keep at least some of our family traditions alive.

When both my parents passed away, my siblings, and I made a promise to do what we could to honor our parents wishes, and for the most part we have done that. Do we always get along? No. Do we always agree? No. Do we have differences and still find a way to love one another. Yes. 

And that right there is the most important thing…

God is at the heart of my family…right in that place where my parents used to be. He blesses us individually and collectively. He keeps our family grounded and focused on the whole…not on just a part. That is what has kept us together all of these years, and with the Lord’s help…will keep us together for the generations to come.

Until next time…

Be blessed!

This Joy I Have

This Joy I Have

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I remember not too long ago I went to visit some patients at a local rehab center, and for some reason that night it felt different than it had on previous visits. It seemed like everyone we visited was so full of the love of the Lord that it was almost overwhelming. They couldn’t wait to talk about how much they loved Him and trusted Him. 

The best part was that they didn’t feel like their current circumstances meant that they were being punished for anything. Sometimes we feel like God is not pleased with us so He takes it out on us. That is so far from the truth. And the people in the rehab center that day knew it. They knew that they could still have the joy of the Lord in the midst of what they were going through. They didn’t doubt that God was in control, and that what they were experiencing was His all-encompassing, all-consuming, all-powerful grace.

It brings me joy just thinking about God’s goodness and how His grace is so amazing. And the really awesome part is that we can’t do anything to deserve it, or to get more of it. God just gives it to us brand new every morning. The word says that we are blessed in the city and in the country (Deuteronomy 28:3). We are blessed going out and coming in (Deuteronomy 28:6). God covers us no matter where we are, and He never has, or ever will turn His back on us. Amen.

The joy of the Lord says that even when you have a hard time feeling His presence, you can be assured that He is always there. That’s His promise. I love knowing that because you and I mess up…sometimes big time, we can still have joy knowing that trouble won’t last always. Nothing we do will ever stop how He feels about us. He delights in us, and He looks forward to blessing us. And we will always be the apple of His eye. Praise God!

Until next time…

Be blessed

What We Don’t Have…We Don’t Need

What We Don’t Have…We Don’t Need

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I’m not sure if you guys go through the same thing or not, but I sometimes compare my life to others. You know…wanting to have nicer things, be more studious, more something…

OK, I may be the only one, but I’m thinking there are a few of us out there who have done, or are doing the same thing. No matter how many people tell us not to do it, we seem to find ourselves doing it anyway. 

I think it is human nature to want to be better, have better, want better. Even when we feel like we are “blessed and highly favored.”  There is still that little something that says, “I wish….” 

Well, today I want to try to lay that to rest. 

What we don’t have…we don’t need. The Bible says that it is a sin to covet that which belongs to your neighbor. For one thing, we have no idea what it took to have it. The Bible also says in James 1:4, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” That means that when we live in Christ, we are whole and complete with nothing missing. 

Comparing ourselves to others is like a slap in the face of God. We are uniquely made, and He needs us to be the way He made us. And if part of the plan for our lives included us having a mansion, fancy cars, or whatever…we would have it. And who knows…maybe He still will.

But the real thing I wanted us to get is that God needs us to walk in who we are…just as we are. He will not let us miss anything He has planned for our lives. Think about it this way…the Bible says that we are all one body with many parts (1 Corinthians 12). So if we are all looking the same, living the same…then something somewhere else is going to be missing…lacking. And that is not the way God works. 

God will never forget the promise He made over our lives. We can be free of comparison today, because what we don’t have…we really don’t need. 

Until next time…

Be blessed

We Will Overcome

We Will Overcome

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Can I just say how grateful I am that God loves us so much. Without Him our lives would be so pitiful. And I am even more grateful that He works it all out so that in some way everything we go through will be used for our good. I love knowing that the trials of this world have a purpose…it makes it all a little easier to bear.

The promise I want to focus on this time is the promise of  joy. The Bible says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

God planned our ending before our beginning. Knowing every single thing we would encounter. Somehow, that makes me feel better. Because it doesn’t matter if we could have just gone to the doctor one day earlier, or if we hadn’t eaten junk food every day of our lives we could have maybe extended our lives a little longer (Although, there is no doubt that eating healthy and going to the doctor regularly will definitely extend the quality of our lives). The trials we go through; the exercise we never get around to; even the times we miss church because we just want one day to sleep in…won’t change anything. God knows who we are, the struggles we face, and guess what? He still loves us. 

None of it matters. He has a plan for our lives, and nothing we do or don’t do is going to change that. Every now and then, He even gives us a glimpse of the plan He has for us. I think He does that to encourage us…to let us know that all of this is leading to something greater. God promises that at His right hand are “pleasures forevermore.”

His promise is that…if we stay close to Him, not only will we overcome, but we will have some joy in the process.

Until next time…

Be blessed

Refining Faith

Refining Faith

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God has promised us a new life. It doesn’t matter what you have done or where you have been, God’s promise is that if you give your life to Christ, He will make your life brand new. For just a moment, I lost sight of that promise. Now, don’t get it twisted. I am not talking about my salvation. I have no doubt that I am saved. What I’m talking about is, every now and then when life gets a little rough…my focus tends to stay on my problem—and not on my God.

I believe we are in a season of strengthening faith. I love God, and I know He loves me. I do not doubt for a minute that He will deliver me out of all my troubles. The thing is…we have to go through our troubles in order to get to the other side, and it’s that going through that can sometimes take us to that lonely place. The awesome thing about that though is that God already knows the plan. Even when we can’t understand we can trust that first, there is a purpose for everything, and second…God is in control.

First Peter 1:7 says, “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” Wow! That is so awesome. This scripture is saying that our faith is more precious than gold. Stronger and more powerful.

Before the refiner applies pressure, gold is simply a lump of ore. The refiner stirs and skims the gold to remove any impurities, and when it is just right, he lets it cool before sending it out into the world. That is what God does for us. He is the refiner. Our trials are what He uses to purify and strengthen us.

We will go through times of testing, but just know that God has promised to be there…right in the midst of whatever we are going through—good or bad. He never takes His eyes off of us, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Until next time…

Be blessed